Connecticut state Rep. Ernest Hewett (D-New London) has been stripped
of his position as deputy speaker of the Connecticut House of
Representatives after audio surfaced of him apparently making a
suggestive remark to a young woman during a committee hearing.

In an appropriations committee hearing on the Connecticut Science
Center on Feb. 20, a 17-year-old high school senior spoke about how the
center helped her overcome her fear of snakes.

"I was able to teach those children about certain things, like the
snakes that we have and the turtles that we have. ... I want to do
something toward that, working with children when I get older," she
said, according to the New London Day.

"I never liked snakes, but I started loving them, they're my best
friends," she added, referring to how she likes to see other people also
overcome their fear of snakes.

"If you're bashful, I got a snake sitting under my desk here," said Hewett, and the committee laughed.

Hewett told The Day that the remark came out wrong. "What I meant to say was, 'If you are shy, then I have an acre of land in the Everglades.'"